Evan Russell not available tonight (Friday) now AVAILABLE

[Sudden Impact]

The Statement rendered by Eklund could have been deliverred on air should have been done differently.

For example read or somebody handed a statement sourced on twitter of which I question that a player will miss tonight's game because of PEDs.

TIFWIW, its an Arkansas Fan, it's a rival, it's Twitter, it's a kid on twitter. It states I am a Troll on it. Nothing here folks....

Instead Eklund swallowed it and embellished it hook line and sinker. He was almost giddy about it and wanted it to be true.

It was his Fandom and his Mike that got the best of him...It was Tennessee. Don't think for a minute he didn't know what he was doing. I don't think he thought it would blow up in his face.

Instead he turn a tweet in to a lawsuit due to his fandom...by wanting it to be true.

step over the line then walked right off the cliff.

Should he be forgiven, that's a choice, yes. Should he be suspended or fired ESPN decision, Should he be sued and ESPN yes.
We have fired Coaches for less.....

You get trolled by a 12 year old (Not Verified) on a National Stage you need to be gone.

I will assume that somebody on the ESPN production team handed him a perfectly prepared Official looking statement to read on air and he did not do anything more but function anymore as the Delivery System. ESPN knows this more than likely and they are the ones we should go after and sue.

It was not in his Region, but Arkansas was so read between the lines....

 

[DaddyChad]

The Statement rendered by Eklund could have been deliverred on air should have been done differently.

For example read or somebody handed a statement sourced on twitter of which I question that a player will miss tonight's game because of PEDs.

TIFWIW, its an Arkansas Fan, it's a rival, it's Twitter, it's a kid on twitter. It states I am a Troll on it. Nothing here folks....

Instead Eklund swallowed it and embellished it hook line and sinker. He was almost giddy about it and wanted it to be true.

It was his Fandom and his Mike that got the best of him...It was Tennessee. Don't think for a minute he didn't know what he was doing. I don't think he thought it would blow up in his face.

Instead he turn a tweet in to a lawsuit due to his fandom...by wanting it to be true.

step over the line then walked right off the cliff.

Should he be forgiven, that's a choice, yes. Should he be suspended or fired ESPN decision, Should he be sued and ESPN yes.
We have fired Coaches for less.....

You get trolled by a 12 year old (Not Verified) on a National Stage you need to be gone.

I will assume that somebody on the ESPN production team handed him a perfectly prepared Official looking statement to read on air and he did not do anything more but function anymore as the Delivery System. ESPN knows this more than likely and they are the ones we should go after and sue.

It was not in his Region, but Arkansas was so read between the lines....

Pretty much you have responsibilities as a journalist IF he went off script without a bullet proof source he should be fired. He shouldn’t be fired bc we’re mad about what he said or anything like that. Should be fired bc he was too incompetent or too emotional and ran with something that opened his employer up to a possible lawsuit.

 

[preacherman20]

I will address this again as a parent. I appreciate that TV and staff took the blunt of it for their player. I don't think he owed anyone an explanation. If you jump to conclusions or go negative then that is on you not him. He was sick. He did not lie. I can promise you from talking to my son they were genuinely more concerned about their friend and teammate than a game Friday night and yet won anyway. Kirby admitted there was no emotion because they did not have answers at the time other than he was okay. But he is still their friend and teammate and they got that Evan was more important than any ball game. And they still won.
I appreciate as a parent the way Vol Fans showed their ultimate support of this team in how they treated Charlie. I've been to thousands of ball games and never seen a kid batting .062 get four standing ovations and again last night. Vol Fans shouted to him loud and clear we got your back and the same to Evan last night.
I will close with this. It gave me a great opportunity to talk to my son about stress and anxiety. I cannot imagine what it is like for him and these guys. What stress WE put on them over a ball game. To come in last night with bases loaded and the game on the line. I reminded him that nothing in life is worth the stress that we put on it most of the time. Just a reminder for the NegaVols. These young men are 18-23 year olds who are not getting paid a dime to play this game. Don't give me the NIL stuff because none of them have made any significant money so far off of it. My son like most is probably $15,000 in debt each year he plays for UT but would not trade it for the world. He loves this journey. Thank you for listening.

 

[Zvols]

I will address this again as a parent. I appreciate that TV and staff took the blunt of it for their player. I don't think he owed anyone an explanation. If you jump to conclusions or go negative then that is on you not him. He was sick. He did not lie. I can promise you from talking to my son they were genuinely more concerned about their friend and teammate than a game Friday night and yet won anyway. Kirby admitted there was no emotion because they did not have answers at the time other than he was okay. But he is still their friend and teammate and they got that Evan was more important than any ball game. And they still won.
I appreciate as a parent the way Vol Fans showed their ultimate support of this team in how they treated Charlie. I've been to thousands of ball games and never seen a kid batting .062 get four standing ovations and again last night. Vol Fans shouted to him loud and clear we got your back and the same to Evan last night.
I will close with this. It gave me a great opportunity to talk to my son about stress and anxiety. I cannot imagine what it is like for him and these guys. What stress WE put on them over a ball game. To come in last night with bases loaded and the game on the line. I reminded him that nothing in life is worth the stress that we put on it most of the time. Just a reminder for the NegaVols. These young men are 18-23 year olds who are not getting paid a dime to play this game. Don't give me the NIL stuff because none of them have made any significant money so far off of it. My son like most is probably $15,000 in debt each year he plays for UT but would not trade it for the world. He loves this journey. Thank you for listening.

I know these guys are talented athletes that have prepared their whole lives for these moments, but I can’t imagine the stress, adrenaline, and anxiety placed on them in these big moments. It wouldn’t be surprising if a large number of college athletes dealt with anxiety-related disorders.

 

[volsagain]

I will address this again as a parent. I appreciate that TV and staff took the blunt of it for their player. I don't think he owed anyone an explanation. If you jump to conclusions or go negative then that is on you not him. He was sick. He did not lie. I can promise you from talking to my son they were genuinely more concerned about their friend and teammate than a game Friday night and yet won anyway. Kirby admitted there was no emotion because they did not have answers at the time other than he was okay. But he is still their friend and teammate and they got that Evan was more important than any ball game. And they still won.
I appreciate as a parent the way Vol Fans showed their ultimate support of this team in how they treated Charlie. I've been to thousands of ball games and never seen a kid batting .062 get four standing ovations and again last night. Vol Fans shouted to him loud and clear we got your back and the same to Evan last night.
I will close with this. It gave me a great opportunity to talk to my son about stress and anxiety. I cannot imagine what it is like for him and these guys. What stress WE put on them over a ball game. To come in last night with bases loaded and the game on the line. I reminded him that nothing in life is worth the stress that we put on it most of the time. Just a reminder for the NegaVols. These young men are 18-23 year olds who are not getting paid a dime to play this game. Don't give me the NIL stuff because none of them have made any significant money so far off of it. My son like most is probably $15,000 in debt each year he plays for UT but would not trade it for the world. He loves this journey. Thank you for listening.

Thanks Preacherman your a class act . Oh I think VOLNATION is greatly appreciative of Kirby and Vollie Fingers . GBO

 

[ohhbother]

I will address this again as a parent. I appreciate that TV and staff took the blunt of it for their player. I don't think he owed anyone an explanation. If you jump to conclusions or go negative then that is on you not him. He was sick. He did not lie. I can promise you from talking to my son they were genuinely more concerned about their friend and teammate than a game Friday night and yet won anyway. Kirby admitted there was no emotion because they did not have answers at the time other than he was okay. But he is still their friend and teammate and they got that Evan was more important than any ball game. And they still won.
I appreciate as a parent the way Vol Fans showed their ultimate support of this team in how they treated Charlie. I've been to thousands of ball games and never seen a kid batting .062 get four standing ovations and again last night. Vol Fans shouted to him loud and clear we got your back and the same to Evan last night.
I will close with this. It gave me a great opportunity to talk to my son about stress and anxiety. I cannot imagine what it is like for him and these guys. What stress WE put on them over a ball game. To come in last night with bases loaded and the game on the line. I reminded him that nothing in life is worth the stress that we put on it most of the time. Just a reminder for the NegaVols. These young men are 18-23 year olds who are not getting paid a dime to play this game. Don't give me the NIL stuff because none of them have made any significant money so far off of it. My son like most is probably $15,000 in debt each year he plays for UT but would not trade it for the world. He loves this journey. Thank you for listening.

What a great example of parenting. Love that you took the opportunity to talk with your son about mental health. Perhaps other parents of student athletes across the country will have that same conversation. That would be an amazing outcome from this whole situation.

 

[DonDiego]

Well done! That is certainly one of my pet peeves.

You are definitely one of my favorite posters....good guy

 

[OrangeVolMan]

My question on this is if he saw the same thing on twitter about Arkansas would he have repeated it on air. We all know the answer to that which makes what he did egregious. Also, if it was Arkansas, would he have doubled down if Arkansas coach said his player was sick after the game. We all know the answer to that too.

 

[youcancallmeAl]

I will address this again as a parent. I appreciate that TV and staff took the blunt of it for their player. I don't think he owed anyone an explanation. If you jump to conclusions or go negative then that is on you not him. He was sick. He did not lie. I can promise you from talking to my son they were genuinely more concerned about their friend and teammate than a game Friday night and yet won anyway. Kirby admitted there was no emotion because they did not have answers at the time other than he was okay. But he is still their friend and teammate and they got that Evan was more important than any ball game. And they still won.
I appreciate as a parent the way Vol Fans showed their ultimate support of this team in how they treated Charlie. I've been to thousands of ball games and never seen a kid batting .062 get four standing ovations and again last night. Vol Fans shouted to him loud and clear we got your back and the same to Evan last night.
I will close with this. It gave me a great opportunity to talk to my son about stress and anxiety. I cannot imagine what it is like for him and these guys. What stress WE put on them over a ball game. To come in last night with bases loaded and the game on the line. I reminded him that nothing in life is worth the stress that we put on it most of the time. Just a reminder for the NegaVols. These young men are 18-23 year olds who are not getting paid a dime to play this game. Don't give me the NIL stuff because none of them have made any significant money so far off of it. My son like most is probably $15,000 in debt each year he plays for UT but would not trade it for the world. He loves this journey. Thank you for listening.

These kids are reading that theirs may be the best team in the history of college baseball, and that even though they won the SEC regular and tourney championships, they will be a failure if they don't win in Omaha. I know I could not have handled that kind of pressure very well when I was their age. Somehow, these kids keep on churning and coming through for each other. I hope they can tune out all the stupid noise and have fun and enjoy this incredible ride.

 

[BowlBrother85]

There's no malice here. The guy is guilty of piss poor journalism....but that's no crime.

In this era, the two most serious accusations which can be made against an MLB prospect would involve either domestic abuse or PED's.

At the very least, Troy Eklund demonstrated a reckless disregard for Russell's reputation, and the reputation of the Tennessee baseball program. I'm not sure that I would rule out malice here.

 

[BowlBrother85]

Troy will be fine

Like all TV talking heads, he reads the words put in front of him on a teleprompter; he cannot be expected to fact check every word and fact of every story

It is the ESPN producer and editors of the telecast that are going to be in some journalistic jeopardy

I don't think that is how this went down. Listen to play-by-play announcer, Lowell Galindo, react to Eklund's PED's claim. He clearly understands that Eklund has just presented a potentially harmful, speculative claim, as being a soon-to-be confirmed report.

Also, why would an ESPN producer type something on a teleprompter which did not involve either one of the teams they were covering? That doesn't make any sense.

 

[taylorvol]

Because of health issues, I was extremely vulnerable to a tragic outcome if I contracted Covid before I got the vaccinations. After a year of deliberate isolation from all but one person - a fellow shutin - I began to have panic attacks for the first time in my life. They are extremely unpleasant and psychologically debilitating, as I wondered during the event if my heart was blowing up, which just increased the anxiety and fear, like being in a perpetual loop of fear and confusion. My blood pressure twould balloon to 160/100!! Stress is a debilitating thing. Looking back, I reallize I've always done a poor job of managing it, mostly due to ignorance. I hope all in this conversation will give some thought to it for themselves and loved ones. Some people handle stress with no problem. But I think most of us could use a little helpt.

Evan, as one of the older guys on this team, and with the team trying to win a national championship, is likely feeling the pressure of being responsible for the outcome. Even if that isn't the case and his anxiety is caused by something else, it sure doesn't help when people on this forum and elsewhere in the fan base write and say that this team will be a failure if they don't win the natty. I have been angered every time I read something like that here. I hope people who say those kinds of things will cease and desist from putting that kind of pressure on these fine young men.

Spot on my friend. The only failure is in the minds of “fans” spouting false rumors about a young man who has bleed Orange and given his all for this team. I’m disgusted by some of these fake band wagon fans who say this season is only a success if UT wins it all. That’s not the way it works—let’s appreciate this team for their greatness but not expect perfection!

 

[taylorvol]

You could say that but this is a lot more of a touchy subject and I'm sure it wasn't easy for TV to deal with either.

Agreed and he had a game to prepare for and other obligations. People needed to respect Evan’s privacy and weren’t entitled to know their private family business.

 

[taylorvol]

I will address this again as a parent. I appreciate that TV and staff took the blunt of it for their player. I don't think he owed anyone an explanation. If you jump to conclusions or go negative then that is on you not him. He was sick. He did not lie. I can promise you from talking to my son they were genuinely more concerned about their friend and teammate than a game Friday night and yet won anyway. Kirby admitted there was no emotion because they did not have answers at the time other than he was okay. But he is still their friend and teammate and they got that Evan was more important than any ball game. And they still won.
I appreciate as a parent the way Vol Fans showed their ultimate support of this team in how they treated Charlie. I've been to thousands of ball games and never seen a kid batting .062 get four standing ovations and again last night. Vol Fans shouted to him loud and clear we got your back and the same to Evan last night.
I will close with this. It gave me a great opportunity to talk to my son about stress and anxiety. I cannot imagine what it is like for him and these guys. What stress WE put on them over a ball game. To come in last night with bases loaded and the game on the line. I reminded him that nothing in life is worth the stress that we put on it most of the time. Just a reminder for the NegaVols. These young men are 18-23 year olds who are not getting paid a dime to play this game. Don't give me the NIL stuff because none of them have made any significant money so far off of it. My son like most is probably $15,000 in debt each year he plays for UT but would not trade it for the world. He loves this journey. Thank you for listening.

Well stated. I can’t imagine the pressure these kids are facing. Very proud of how Vol fans showed out for Chuck and for Evan. As CTV, it does things to my soul that I can’t put in words. My wife and son made sure we bought Russell jerseys as they are now big fans of Evan. They’re slowly drawing in to be as passionate about the BaseVols as my daughter and I are. Lol.